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Documentary offers unprecedented access to president’s flying fortress

Air Force One could be the safest place on earth.

It’s definitely the most sophisticated and technologically advanced aircraft ever to take flight, but thanks to a hundreds-strong workforce of highly trained Air Force personnel, it’s also the most protected.

Those airmen are the subject of the new documentary “On Board Air Force One,” airing now on the National Geographic Channel, which goes behind the scenes to show the inner workings of the famed jumbo jet.

“The United States Air Force has done amazing things with this aircraft to make sure the president is very well protected,” Col. Mark Tillman, commander of the Presidential Airlift Group under President George W. Bush, said during an on-camera interview.

Producer and director Peter Schnall was granted unprecedented access during the yearlong filming of the documentary, capturing decisive moments in recent history like Bush’s historic and highly secretive trip to Baghdad to spend Thanksgiving 2003 with service members, and the moments following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, when Air Force One was one of few planes flying in North American airspace.

“There’s nothing more amazing than being on board Air Force Once,” Schnall said at a private premiere Jan. 23 at the National Geographic Society headquarters in Washington. “It just gives you chills. There are almost no words to describe it.”

The film also is a testament to the training and professionalism of the service members involved in the operation of the aircraft.

“It was one of the most amazing journeys I’ve ever taken in my 25-year filmmaking career,” Schnall said. “I don’t often get the chance to be close to people in the military, but they are so professional. They do their job so well, nothing ever goes wrong.”

The film introduces Col. Scott Turner, who succeeds Col. Mark Tillman as the presidential pilot as President Barack Obama takes office. National Geographic was on board during Obama’s first Air Force One trip, prior to his inauguration, and captured a humorous but poignant moment in which Obama remarks that Turner looks “exactly what I would want the pilot of Air Force One to look like,” he says. “Right out of central casting. You look like you know how to fly, like Sam Shepard in ‘The Right Stuff.’ ”

As a tribute to the service members who work on it, “On Board” is a tip of the hat to their excellence; it lacks, however, the historical perspective that might find a place within a documentary longer than 45 minutes. The film starts at the end of Bush’s presidency and ends before Obama’s officially begins, with no mention of the other presidents who came before.

Historically, the film fills in gaps left in the official record. For example, after the 9/11 attacks, the plane and the president head into the Gulf of Mexico to avoid confrontations with any other aircraft; after an all-clear, they make their way to several military installations before returning to Washington. We also learn that Air Force One has an identical twin that flies wherever the president goes in case the plane has a problem, which, because of the expertise of the crew and the high maintenance requirements, almost never happens.

The film features interview clips from Bush that offer nothing to the narrative. More interesting are the stories of enlisted and officer crew members who make the plane fly. They aren’t the only reason to watch “On Board,” but they’ll be the stories you remember.

It also lacks, for obvious reasons, details about what make the “Flying White House” so cool: all the technological and defense secrets that keep the POTUS safe. We get to see some of them — radar-jamming devices, newly installed communications capabilities that allow the president to address the nation live, the operating room — but the rest remain off limits.

Still, in true National Geographic form, the cinematography is stunning, and the access to the plane is unprecedented, making it a must-see for anyone with a reverence for history or the office of the presidency. It also airs right before “On Board Marine One,” an insider’s glimpse into the operation of HMX1 and the president’s helicopter.

• “On Board Air Force One” is now airing on the National Geographic Channel. For more details, visit http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/on-board.